Indonesians often complain that neighbouring Malaysia is stealing their traditional dances and costumes for its tourism marketing. If they were to take something in return, however, they could do worse than replicate Malaysia’s approach to Islamic finance, says IFR’s Asia bureau chief Nachum Kaplan.
Islamic finance in Asia is a distinctly Malaysian affair. Indonesia, an emerging regional powerhouse with the world’s biggest Muslim population, does not even figure. Indonesia needs to address this shortcoming. Islamic finance could help it solve two of its biggest financing challenges: funding infrastructure and reducing its dependency on foreign borrowing...............................................Full Article: Source